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Watched these last night. I had no real knowledge or exposure to either symphony, except hearing snippets of 3 occasionally.

This was a strange night for me, i really really enjoyed 2 the flow of music was fasicinating and the second movement paticularly with all the volin play was superb.

The 3rd with the exception of the first and last few minutes i found very procedural and somewhat boring to be honest, it reminded of Bruckner quiet loud quiet loud etc, it was almost as if techniques were being shown off just for the sake of it with no musical story. Now maybe hearing the 2nd first put me in a certain frame of mind but the analogy that came to mind was that the second was like driving a Lotus, very direct and emotional with nothing flashy but still very soul stirring. The third was sort of a Lexus, very structured and nothing wrong with it but no soul or emotion.

These are first impressions and I would never of course claim any expertise, they are just raw initial reactions.

I find it strange that your opinion if the 3rd is "but no soul or emotion.". May I suggest that you look for a different performance and/or have soe more listens?

Pay attention to the developmnt and dialogue of the instruments. The mood changes are not "just there". They too carry meanings, and should in no way be percieved as "show off".

May I remind you that the subject is heroism. It is inspired by the french revolution. it carries the spirit of conflict, the death of a hero, freedom and new ideas. You cannot just state "it has no passion", especially with just one listen.

You can just see the revolution in beethovens thought through those little "quirks" here and there, unusual for the era rythms, the hard hitting "fanfares" of the strings, the lack of a steady, monotonous mood, all these are a revolution in their own way!

I like Karajan's performances but I suppose you can find much higher quality recordings in terms of sound and recording technology.